INDIANAPOLIS — Julian Blackmon believes 2023 was his best season in the NFL.
The numbers back him up.
Moving to strong safety for the first time, the 25-year-old set career highs in tackles (88), interceptions (4) and pass breakups (8).
After officially re-signing a one-year contract with the Indianapolis Colts this week, what can Blackmon do for an encore?
“I would say the next step is honestly to finish,” he said during a video conference call. “I feel like I’ve started out strong and I’ve gotten to the end, but I haven’t finished. For me — I think that everybody else knows it, too — one of the things that I want to do is play 17 games.
“I think that, more than just from a leadership aspect, I think being on the field for my teammates is something that I want to be able to do.”
Blackmon played all but the final two games last season, tying his career high for games played (15) and setting a new mark for starts (15). But a shoulder injury kept him on the sideline as the Colts chased a playoff berth in the final two weeks.
As he took free-agent visits to the San Francisco 49ers and Buffalo Bills last month, Blackmon found it hard to shake the feeling he had unfinished business in Indianapolis.
“You see how other teams compete, what makes them winning cultures and honestly that’s what made me want to come back, too, at the same time,” he said. “You see all these other teams that talk about what they have and how they’re in house. For me, it was like I feel like we have the same thing in Indy.
“My heart was always like, ‘OK, well, this has been a great process, but at the same time, I want to continue to build with something that I’ve helped start.’ ”
Blackmon’s never been shy to speak his truth, and he admitted the free-agent process wasn’t always smooth sailing.
The safety market was depressed across the league, and he watched several of his teammates re-sign with the Colts while he continued to field offers and search for the best fit.
The end result was a one-year deal reportedly worth up to $7.7 million to return to the franchise that drafted him in the third round in 2020.
It’s a chance to continue building with a young defensive secondary he helped lead in 2023, and of course he can hit the open market again next offseason.
The process ended in a satisfactory manner, but Blackmon leaned heavily on family and friends while everything played out. He said he shut out the outside noise and kept his focus on those closest to him.
That wasn’t always easy.
“I think (the safety market) was something similar to how it was for the running backs a year ago,” Blackmon said. “It just kind of shows you that you have to always be prepared for anything. It’s one of those things where you can never really truly say that you’ve got it, especially when there is so much talent in the NFL.
“For me, it was one of those things where I just try to take it for what it was, which was a unique situation especially going into my first free agency. But … luckily I had the right people in my corner to navigate that for me.”
And now he returns to the only pro team he’s ever known.
Blackmon kept in touch with close friends on the team like cornerback Kenny Moore II and wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr., and they were equally invested in his eventual return.
The road took many twists and turns, but the destination was the one Blackmon always hoped for.
“This was home,” he said, “and this is the place where it started, and this is the place I want to finish if I can. Everybody knows how free agency went this year for safeties. We just wanted to be patient with the whole process, and we were able to come up with something that everybody was happy with.”
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